Cerezo Osaka and Kawasaki Frontale will contest the 2017 J.League YBC Levain Cup final after winning their respective semi-finals on Sunday courtesy of last-gasp goals.

In the Osaka derby, newly-promoted Cerezo triumphed 2-1 at Gamba, the 4-3 aggregate win over their local rivals sealed by a bullet header in the 95th minute from Yasuki Kimoto, who added on to Yoichiro Kakitani’s opener to extend the visitors outstanding return to the top table of Japanese football.

After a 3-2 victory in the first-leg of their semi-final against Frontale, Vegalta Sendai harboured genuine hope of reaching the showpiece for a shot at silverware headed into the weekend. 

But a brace from Koji Miyoshi either side of the break followed by Tatsuya Hasegawa’s 90th-minute winner ended the underdog’s fairytale march to the final four in heartbreaking fashion, as they eventually lost 3-1.